After slipping behind C.J. Stroud following the trade that took Carolina to the first overall spot in the 2023 draft, Bryce Young became the betting favorite again -- and then he became the pick. Now that the 2023 draft has come and gone, the attention turns to next year.
And there’s already a clear favorite to be the first overall pick.
DraftKings has USC quarterback Caleb Williams at -550 to become the first name called next April in Detroit. Next on the list is North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye at +600. In third position, after a steep drop, is Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., at +2000.
Deeper on the list is South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler, at +6000. Two years ago, he was the favorite to be the first pick in the 2022 draft, while at Oklahoma.
Click that link and look at some of those names from two years ago. It shows how inexact of a science it is to predict who will be drafted where a full year in advance.
And that’s the problem with betting markets and mock drafts this early in the process. It puts unfounded ideas in the heads of players, who possibly will give up remaining eligibility before finding out the hard way that the gamblers and dratniks were flat wrong about them all along.
Williams is regarded as a can’t-miss prospect, and it will surely prompt fans of the worst teams in 2023 to cross their fingers and hope that they will Crater for Caleb.
